Linn's Collects News For Stamp Collectors

Whether your stamp collecting interests are specialized or general, Linn's Stamp News is sure to carry articles that interest you.

Published weekly on 70-odd tabloid pages, Linn's delivers to you hundreds of features and news stories in the course of a month, touching on topics as diverse as forgeries, revenue stamps, and meter stamps, in addition to describing and illustrating what the next stamp for sale at your local post office will look like. Notices of upcoming auctions and stamp shows will keep you "in the know".

Although the hefty bulk of this colorful newspaper might be a little intimidating, it needn't be. Linn's is more for skimming than for reading straight through.

My own interests are general, so I usually head for the weekly "Kitchen Table Philately" column (a review of stamp assortments called "mixtures" that often need to be soaked off paper).

Then I scoot over to Stamp Market Tips column to see if any of the stamps that I own are turning into the next stamp rarity. The author keeps tabs on the international stamp market, so he's sometimes aware of strong demand in a particular country that might lead to scarcer supply (and higher prices) for that country's stamps here in the United States and other countries.

Other favorite destinations include the Readers' Opinions page, the Editor's Choice page (which highlights articles and columns he found particularly interesting) and the Collectors' Forum page where questions from puzzled collectors are raised--and often answered.

The large classified ads section also acts like a magnet to me. I've spent countless hours studying the diverse offers from the small stamp dealers, and have ordered from many of them, usually with pleasurable results. Of particular note is the "Trading Posthorn" section where collectors can trade their duplicate stamps.

I've naturally left out much, much more than I've included. The news reporting is very good, occasionally scooping the national news media. Whenever I flip casually through Linn's pages, I find tidbits that catch my attention.

Local newspapers sometimes have weekly stamp columns, but these are mere table scraps compared to the feast that Linn's serves up.

Readers who desire more details about the contents of a typical issue can visit Linn's web site at www.linns.com . Major articles and columns are described, and a generous selection are reprinted there. Regular Linn's readers will enjoy the added links to related articles and the high resolution photographs that put the newsprint color photos to shame.